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For me the biggest problem is that there seems to be little discounting of airfares
Its not that important that airfares are discounted from Bangkok to Phuket, its pretty cheap anyway BUT for example you still have to pay say London-Bangkok return, this can be around 45-50,000 baht. These routes are still pretty busy so airlines dont see the need to discount
The problem is there are few direct farangland flights into Phuket and only a handful of charter airlines
The major cost of anyones' holiday is the price of the international flight, this is the area where the discounting needs to happen in order to stimulate tourist demand
On another note, the landlords in patong are the only people making money, in the short term they are not affected by low tourist no's, they still get their rent every month and are still demanding stupid prices for new lease contracts. This is another area that needs serious consideration average price for a beer bar contract in a good soi is 1.5-2 million baht and anything from 20-30,000 baht per month. You know things are crazy when a landlord can charge 2 million baht for a new bar near the beach, where most of the hotels are still closed
If I was a landlord I would discount rent now, with a built in agreement to pay back the discount in high season or over a longer period, thus allowing struggling businesses to continue to work through what is a very quiet period indeed
But of course this Thailand where nothing really makes sense
G
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